37th Meow

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He Yunzhou didn’t think too much before refusing Huo Zheng’s invitation. Before Huo Zheng could recover from his daze, He Yunzhou had already pressed the button for his apartment’s floor.

He looked at Huo Zheng with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

“The wound on your face got soaked in the rain. Make sure to disinfect it again when you get home…” He Yunzhou instructed Huo Zheng.

Huo Zheng, still looking dazed from the heavy rain, could only nod stiffly in response to He Yunzhou’s instructions.

“I know, but…” Before he could finish, the elevator had slowly come to a stop on the twenty-third floor.

The elevator doors opened in front of He Yunzhou and Huo Zheng, revealing a neighboring granny who was waiting for the elevator outside.

Huo Zheng’s words instantly caught in his throat.

However, the neighboring granny didn’t seem to notice the subtle awkwardness in the air.

Seeing the two of them looking so bedraggled, the neighboring granny exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, is it raining that hard outside?”

“Yes, the rain is heavy… Are you going down or up?” He Yunzhou responded very naturally.

The neighboring granny shook the trash bag in her hand. “Going down, going down. Ai yo, it’s such a hassle to throw out the trash in this heavy rain. The property management oh, should really place a trash can on every floor…”

Seeing the neighboring granny, whom he had grown familiar with over the years, start her habitual chatter, He Yunzhou maintained a polite smile and took a step out of the elevator. However, as he stepped out, he remembered that Huo Zheng hadn’t finished speaking and quickly turned back to look at him.

“Are you really alright?” He Yunzhou asked again, a bit worried.

In the harsh white light of the elevator, Huo Zheng’s face had a bluish tint, almost like a water ghost.

“I’m fine.” He said to He Yunzhou with difficulty.

“I just wanted to say, good night—” His words were cut off by the closing elevator doors.

“…”

He Yunzhou stared at the cold, metallic doors, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

Something seemed off… he couldn’t help but think.

(Have I been too direct in my refusal?)

This thought lingered in He Yunzhou’s mind until he opened the door and returned home.

Nan Gua heard the noise at the door and jumped down from the cat climbing frame with a thud, running over and meowing for food.

Seeing his cat’s fluffy, anxious, and ingratiating face, He Yunzhou, in a moment of distraction, couldn’t help but think of Gua Ji from back then

Ah, speaking of which…

Just now, Huo Zheng’s desolate figure standing alone in the elevator seemed very familiar.

It reminded He Yunzhou of a special period when Gua Ji had been at home for some time. Although Gua Ji had finally started to let down his guard around He Yunzhou, he still hadn’t fully integrated into the family.

Perhaps thinking of himself as a mere guest who needed to contribute to the household, Gua Ji would occasionally bring half-dead geckos and cockroaches to He Yunzhou’s bedside, looking at him seriously, waiting for him to “eat” this “payment.”

Once Gua Ji realized that He Yunzhou firmly refused and disposed of his “gifts,” he would stand in a corner with a subtle, silent demeanor, quietly observing He Yunzhou’s every move.

Of course, this little episode only lasted a short while. Gua Ji soon understood that he didn’t need to pay extra to enjoy He Yunzhou’s care and feeding, and the hunting behavior ceased (with the only exception being the period when Gua Ji started to get sick).

Holding Nan Gua on the sofa, He Yunzhou pulled up photos of Gua Ji on his phone and quietly looked at them for a while.

Ah, it was true…

The expressions were exactly the same.

Huo Zheng’s invitation for coffee earlier was probably a… friendly gesture, wasn’t it?

Only at that moment did He Yunzhou belatedly realize this.

To say the least, Huo Zheng had been his meal companion for quite a while now, always taking the initiative to come over to He Yunzhou’s place. Today was the first time Huo Zheng had invited He Yunzhou to his own home.

“Ugh, I’m really… stupid.” He Yunzhou couldn’t help but feel chagrined after thinking through all of this. He lay back on the messy sofa, holding Nan Gua in his arms.

“Why am I always so slow ah?” He sighed, lifting Nan Gua up and staring into the cat’s big, round eyes.

It wasn’t a big deal, just that he hadn’t realized and had directly refused Huo Zheng’s goodwill. Yet, the subtle guilt still made He Yunzhou uneasy.

Moreover…

He used to be able to clearly sense that person’s hidden thoughts, but for some reason, Huo Zheng was becoming harder to understand.

Hidden anxiety.

Elusive emotions.

And those feelings towards that person were impossible to categorize and organize.

All of these things combined made He Yunzhou’s heart feel chaotic.

“Ah, so frustrating.”

He Yunzhou sighed, habitually starting to avoid thinking about things he couldn’t figure out.

“Forget it, I’ll just cook a dish he likes next time as an apology. What do you think?” He rubbed Nan Gua’s head and spoke to him softly.

“Meow…” Nan Gua whimpered.

…

Although He Yunzhou had planned to cook a few more dishes and invite Huo Zheng over, plans often couldn’t keep up with changes.

First, it seemed that Huo Zheng had encountered new problems at work. He started leaving early and coming home late, spending several consecutive days at the office, leaving no time to come over to He Yunzhou’s for dinner.

Of course, He Yunzhou himself had some minor issues during this time, making him disinterested in cooking.

The illustration work for the novel version of <Divine Cat> had fallen through.

When He Yunzhou received the news from Xiao Xi, he wasn’t particularly surprised. After all, the publisher’s attitude and Editor Ding’s previous unusual behavior had already prepared him for this outcome.

Editor Ding had even been “by the book” enough to settle the payment for the character design drafts that He Yunzhou had painstakingly worked on.

However, when rejecting He Yunzhou, Editor Ding’s arrogant words on the phone successfully disgusted him.

“I see you’re having a hard time, so I specially applied for this payment for you.”

Even though the payment was due according to the standard process, Editor Ding made it sound like some kind of special reward.

When Xiao Xi heard He Yunzhou’s account, she was so furious that she cursed directly over the phone. She was even angry enough to consider going directly to the editorial department to straighten out the matter in front of the Editor-in-Chief.

“F***, tmd!^[1]A very harsh curse word XD What a bunch of sh**** editors and a sh**** project—they think this old lady doesn’t know what’s going on?! Your character designs were perfectly fine, but they still breached the contract because they already had someone else in mind before they approached you. They just wanted that s*** popular female artist to do the illustrations for ‘Divine Cat’…”

It turned out that Xiao Xi had been keeping an eye on this matter and had even managed to dig up some insider information.

He Yunzhou had been the designated artist, and his character designs had received unanimous praise within the editorial department. However, despite his exceptional skills and many classic works, Editor Ding preferred Quietly Watching Falling Flowers, a female artist who had recently become a sensation on social media.

“Ah, it’s her ah… she is quite famous…” He Yunzhou couldn’t help but say when he heard the name.

Quietly Watching Falling Flowers was most famous not for her art but for photos of her that had circulated from a certain comic convention. The photos showed her with delicate features and a slender figure, exuding an enchanting aura, which starkly contrasted with the common perception of illustrators as plain-looking and modest in their appearance. In a short time, she attracted a lot of attention.

Soon after, her photoshoots were released online. Compared to the candid shots from the convention, her photoshoot images elevated her to a goddess-like beauty, outshining most internet celebrities…

In short, even netizens who hadn’t seen Quietly Watching Falling Flowers’ artwork had seen her photos.

“This makes sense. If they hire her, the book’s marketing costs will significantly decrease. Quietly Watching Falling Flowers can drive sales on her own, something I can’t compete with…” He Yunzhou spoke calmly, but Xiao Xi, hearing his response, instantly puffed up in anger like a blowfish.

“If they always wanted to hire a famous artist, why did they initially say you were the predetermined choice, and then rush you to finish the drawings? Isn’t that just tm—playing with people—”

“Xiao Xi you actually don’t need to be so angry, it’s nothing.” He Yunzhou tried to comfort her, but his words seemed to make things worse. He had barely said a few more sentences telling Xiao Xi not to be upset when she became even more furious.

“He Yunzhou! How can you still be like this when people are bullying you?! It’s obviously their fault, so why can’t you stand up for yourself? Do you know that your attitude makes me feel like I’m the idiot? I’m not angry; of course, I can be not angry. They’re messing with you, and if you’re not angry, why should I be—”

“Xiao Xi…”

Xiao Xi directly hung up the phone.

He Yunzhou stared blankly at his phone, and it took a long time before he slowly put it down.

Am I really not angry?

How could I not be angry…

He Yunzhou lowered his eyes, staring at the phone’s dark screen.

[“Junior He… it’s not good to always act like a hermit crab oh.”]

[“No matter how hard a shell you find, as long as you keep hiding in that little corner, the problem will never be solved.”]

[“Getting hurt? Pfft, please, life is meant to hurt. What’s there to be afraid of…”]

…

In a daze, He Yunzhou heard Shu Ran’s words echoing in his ears.

That’s why he had hopelessly fallen in love with her back then.

Always pretending everything was fine while hiding in his own little world, it was hard not to love Shu Ran.

The girl who charged ahead fearlessly, laughing loudly and crying just as loudly, seemed like someone straight out of his dreams.

Unfortunately, after all these years, Shu Ran was still the same, while he remained the same timid and cowardly person, always pretending everything was fine.

As He Yunzhou thought about Shu Ran, his phone lit up with an incoming call.

As if in a dream, the caller was none other than the person he had just been thinking about.

“Junior He, hehehe, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

As soon as he pressed the call button, Shu Ran’s cheerful voice rang out.

“…Pfft, never mind, I can’t wait and I don’t want to let you choose. I’ll just tell you. The bad news is, you’ll need to prepare some money for a red envelope…”

…

“The good news is, Meng Meng and I are planning to officially get married in the United States.”

…

“Hahahaha, of course, we can’t really have a wedding here in China, but there will still be a small private party. Both my family and Meng Meng’s family and friends will be there—you have to come! Do you hear me?! You’re my most important friend.”

…

“I’ve reserved a double seat for you oh, you know what that means, right? You should bring that Mr. Nice Guy along. I’ll make sure to throw the bouquet your way. It’s settled!”

“Alright.” He Yunzhou heard himself say to Shu Ran.

“I’ll definitely be there and give you a big red envelope.”

Please, heavens.

Let his voice sound natural and happy.

He Yunzhou prayed in his heart.

“…I wish you both a long and happy marriage and growing old together.” He spoke each word slowly into the phone.

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The author has something to say:

By my calculations, it seems that Classmate Ouyang will make an appearance soon.

As well as…

Mr. He really misunderstood the situation ah.

Gua Ji just wanted to pay for his meals back then.

But Mr. Huo wants to offer his whole self…